Garments



H. A. SMITH April 7, 1959 GARMENTS Filed Oct. 20, 1955 INVENTOR.I-IUWARD A. SMITH ATTORNEY? United States Patent GARMENTS Howard A.Smith, Fairfield, Conn.

Application October 20, 1955, Serial No. 541,706

8 Claims. (Cl. 128-475) The present invention relates to garments,particularly ladies garments of the type having a pair of bust pocketssuch, as for instance, as a brassiere, foundation garment, bathing suit,evening gown, and the like, and wherein the bust pockets are supportedwithout the use of shoulder straps. The invention is especiallyconcerned with garments of this type wherein wires are incorporated inthe garment to constitute stay means for supporting the bust pocketportions of the garment, and which in the case of garments of thebrassiere type are generally referred to as wired bras.

Heretofore such garments have been provided with a substantiallysemi-circular wire fastened into the garment in surrounding relation tothe lower portion of each of the bust pockets. Such relatively stiffwire is necessary in a garment of this type because the garment isusually held in place by elastic band portions which, together with therest of the garment, encircle the body, these band portions being undertension to hold the garment in place. The relatively stifl wire providessufl'icient resistance to the pulling force of the elastic bands so thatthe upper edges of the bust pockets are sustained against spreadinglaterally. However, such wires are objectionable in that they presentrelatively sharp hard ends which tend to dig into the flesh of thewearer, particularly at the outer edges of the bust pockets, when thewearer assumes different postures, such as bending over, sitting down,etc.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a garment havingwired bust pockets, and wherein the Wire includes a relatively stiltportion adapted to outline the lower portion of the bust pocket, and arelatively flexible extension to the relatively stiff wire portionarranged to eliminate a free end of the relatively stiff wire at thoseportions of the garment where such free end would otherwise tend to diginto the flesh of the wearer.

It is further proposed to provide a wire including a flexible portionwhich functions as a substantially vertically disposed stay in thoseportions of the garment where resistance to lateral pull is notrequired, and where it is desirable that the stayed portion of thegarment be relatively flexible.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent froma consideration of the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein satisfactoryembodiments of the invention are shown. However, it will be understoodthat the invention is not limited to the details disclosed but includesall such variations and modifications as fall within the spirit of theinvention and the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevation of strapless brassiere according to oneillustrated embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken along the line22 of Fig. 1;

"Fig. 3 is a front elevation, on an enlarged scale,

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showing the wire elements as employed in relation to one bust pocket;

Fig. 4 is a similar view of a modified form of the invention, showingthe wire as employed in relation to one bust pocket and a portion of thewire as employed in relation to the other bust pocket;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation, on a greatly enlarged scale, of anintermediate portion of the wire and showing the connection between therelatively stifi wire portion and the relatively flexible wire portion,the latter being of flattened coil wire type especially adapted for thepurposes of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a side edge view thereof:

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5, and showing a free end of theflexible flattened coil wire; and

Fig. 8 is a side edge view thereof.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates a brassiere embodying theinvention. It is pointed out that the invention may be incorporated inother types of garments having bust pockets and wherein shoulder strapsare dispensed with, but inasmuch as the invention is concerned with thesupporting structure of the bust pockets of such garments, theillustration of the invention in connection with a brassiere will besufficient to indicate its applicability to other types of garments aswell, so that further illustration of the latter is not deemednecessary.

The brassiere as illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a pair of bustreceiving pocket portions 10-10, preferably formed of fabric or othersuitable material which is soft and pliable and is adapted to conform tothe contours of the body, these bust pockets being set in openings 11 ofa front panel portion 12 which are substantially U-shaped in outline,the lower edge being substantially semi-circular. The upper edges of thebust pockets 10 are convexly curved as at 13 in a conventional manner sothat they conform to the contours of the body, and it is pointed out inthis respect that in the absence of shoulder straps, and also in theabsence of stiffening means to sustain the outline shape of the openings11, lateral pull upon the side edges of the panel 12 would tend tospread the upper portions of the bust pocket openings 11. An elasticband 14, preferably of longitudinally stretchable fabric, is secured toone vertical side edge of the panel 12 and a substantially similarelastic band 15 is secured to the other vertical side edge, the band 14having an end strip 16 provided with hooks 17 and the band 15 having anend strip 18 provided with eyes 19 for engagement by the hooks.Obviously, other fastening means may be employed to fasten the garmentin encircling relation about the body, with the bands 14 and 15, orequivalent means, provided in the garment so as to be placed undertension to exert lateral pull upon the side edges of the front panel 12.

The supporting wire consists of a relatively stiff wire section 20 ofsemi-circular or how form adapted to be fitted into the garment, as willpresently more fully appear, in surrounding relation to the lowersemi-circular outline of the bust pocket, and connected to the end ofthe section 20 at its outer side in a relatively flexible wire section21 which starts at a point substantially below the upper edge of thebust pocket and is bent into inverted U-shape as at 22 to provide anupper extremity free of any sharp or hard end, and is then extendeddownwardly in vertical relation, as at 23, to provide a flexiblevertical stay portion, and at its lower end is bent inwardly, as at 24,to eliminate a downwardly directed free'end, the free end of the portion24 being provided with an end fitting or tip 25. The wire employed forthe wire section 20 is relatively stifi spring wire and may be ofcircular cross-section, as shown, or of flat, oval or other suitablecross-section.

The flexible wire employed is of the type which is adapted to normallylie fiat and which at the same time may have a desired general shapesubstantially permanently embodied therein. A suitable stay for thispurpose may consist of coiled spring wire as shown in Figs. --8, two twohelically coiled wires 26 and 27 being interengaged and thereuponflattened under extremely high pressure, which has the effect ofpermanently maintaining the interengaged wires together through the setimparted to the wires by the pressure applied thereto, and by causingsuperimposed wires to slightly embed into each other at their points ofcontact. Also, the pressure sets any shape in which the length of coiledwires is placed during the pressing operation. Thus, where theinterengaged coiled wires are arranged along straight or curved lineswhen they are subjected to the flattening pressure they will thereafterremain normally straight or normally curved, although capable of flexingfrom such normal shape, either forwardly or rearwardly from the normalflat plane or sideways within the flat plane. The flexible wire of thistype also has longitudinal elasticity being capable by longitudinalexpansive force of stretching, or by longitudinal compressive force ofcontracting, and in either case of returning to its original length.

The free end of the flexible wire is enclosed in a suitable metal tip inthe form of a channel strip clamped into U-shape over the wire ends. Theconnection of the end of the flexible wire to the end of the relativelystiff wire 20 is preferably carried out by welding, swedging, or othersuitable procedures, the connection 28 as shown in Fig. 5 consisting ofa weld joined over the butted ends of the relatively stiff andrelatively flexible wires, and preferably so finished as to eliminateany sharp edge or projection.

The supporting wire is incorporated in the garment in relation to eachof the bust pockets, as shown in Fig. l, the relatively stiff wiresections 20 being disposed in surrounding relation to the lower edgeportions of the bust pockets, the portions 22 of the flexible wiresections 21 being disposed at the upper edges of the garment at theouter side of the bust pockets, the portions 23 being disposedvertically along the side edges of the panel 12,

and the portions 24 being carried inwardly along the l lower edgeadjacent the side edges of the panel 12, so as to eliminate sharp endsat the lower ends of the vertical portions 23. In addition a verticalstay 29, preferably of flattened coil wire, similar to the section 27 isprovided in vertical relation between the bus pockets, h

the ends of the stay being provided with tips 25. Also, a relativelyshort vertical stay 30 also preferably formed of the flattened coil wireand provided with end tips 25, is provided in the panel 12 below thecenter point of each bust pocket. are secured in the garment by tapes 31at the rearward side of the garment secured by parallel rows ofstitching 32 and 33, these tapes being preferably of felt or othersuitable soft material, and being similar in their arrangement to theconventional type of tape employed in garments of this type forenclosing stays and outlining the edges of the garment.

The arrangement of the relatively stiff wire sections 20 is such thatthe bust pockets will be elfectually supported against spread ordistortion, and their edges firmly held against the body of the wearer,under the lateral pull exerted by the tensioning of the bands id and 15when these are secured at the back, so that the garment encircles thebody. The relatively flexible rounded ends provided by the invertedU-shaped porions 22 of the flexible wire sections 21 and by the in-War'dly bent end portions 24, eliminate any sharp ends at the upper andlower edges of the garment adjacent the outer ends of the panel 12, sothat there is no tendency for the wire to dig into the body uponassuming various postures, as bending, sitting, etc. Also the abilityThe supporting wire and the stays of the flattened coil wire section 21to freely flex in all directions, and to longitudinally contract underlongitudinal pressure, allows the garment to yield at the side edges ofthe panels 12, thus preventing any discomfort to the wearer while at thesame time providing sufficient vertical support for the garment toprevent its distortion at the side edges of the panel under the lateralpull of the bands 1 and K5.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 3 the ends of therelatively stiff wire sections 20 at the inner edges the bust pocketsare provided with free ends in the conventional manner, inasmuch as theproblem of preventing digging in of the free ends of a relatively stiffstay is not present at the inner edges of the bust pockets to the sameextent as it is at the outer edges of the bust pockets.

in Fig. 4 there is shown a modification of the supporting wire in whicha pro-shaped flexible wire section 34 is provided for dispositionbetween the bust pockets in place of the stay 29, as seen in Fig. 1,this section being connected to the inner end of the relatively stiffwire section 2.6 of one bust pocket by an inverted U-shaped bend 35connected, as at 36, to the wire section 29 in similar manner to theconnection 28, and provided with a vertically disposed stay portion 37,at the lower end of which the wire extends laterally inwardly along thelower edge of the garment, as at 38. From the end of the portion 35 thewire is carried vertically, as at 39, to provide a vertical staycentrally below the bust pocket in place of the stay 30, as shown inFigs. 1 and 3, the upper end of the portion 34 being provided with a tip25. The supporting wire for the other bust pocket is of identical butreverse form, and in practice the vertical stay portion 37 of thesupporting wire for one bust pocket may be superimposed upon thevertical stay portion 37 of the wire support for the other bust pocket,as shown clearly in Fig. 4. Also the two structures may be permanentlyjoined, if desired, by spot welding the superimposed portions 37.Another arrangement may consist in placing the portions 37 in parallelside-by-side relation.

What is claimed is:

l. A strapless brassiere consisting of a body encircling band having apair of bust receiving pockets, and means associated with each of saidpockets for preventing the collapse thereof when the brassiere isstretched around the body of a wearer, said means each including agenerally semi-circular longitudinally rigid transversely resilient wireelement positioned along the bottom of said pocket and extending upwardalong at least one side thereof to about the midpoint of said pocket,and a laterally resilient flexible member having substantially lessresistance to bending under pressure than said wire element extendingupward from said one end of said wire element for a short distance tonear the top edge of said pocket whereby a wearer can comfortably bendforward in said brassiere and said flexible member will conform to thebody but will hold the top edge of said pocket in position against thebody.

2. The combination of elements as in claim 1 wherein said flexiblemember includes a longitudinally resilient flattened wire coil whichextends upward a short distance then reverses and extends downward forsubstantially the width of said band adjacent said pocket.

3. The combination of elements as in claim 2 in further combination witha second flexible member like the first and extending from the other endof said Wire member.

4. In a garment of the character described, a body encircling bandhaving upper and lower edges and including a pair of bust pockets, eachdefined by a U-shaped marginal edge having its sides extending to theupper edge of said band, supporting means for said respective pockets,each comprising a resiliently flexible stiffening member consisting of alength of longitudinally rigid transversely flexible spring wire in theform of a U-shaped bow secured within said band in parallel contiguousrelation to the U-shaped edge of its respective pocket, at least one endof said wire terminating in downwardly spaced relation to the upper edgeof said band, and a resiliently flexible stay member secured to said endof said wire as a longitudinal extension thereof and extending upwardlytherefrom in parallel contiguous relation to the side edge of saidrespective pocket into proximity to the upper edge of said band, saidstay member having relatively greater transverse flexibility than saidwire, whereby a wearer can comfortably bend forward in said garment andsaid stay members will yieldably conform to the body while holding thetop edge of said pockets in position against the body.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4, wherein said stay member is ofinverted U-shape with one leg secured to said end of said wire, itsbight disposed in contiguous relation below the upper edge of said band,and its other leg extending substantially vertically downwardly.

6. The invention as defined in claim 4, wherein said stay member is ofinverted U-shape with one leg secured to said end of said wire, itsbight disposed in contiguous relation below the upper edge of said band,and its other leg extending substantially vertically downwardly intocontiguous relation above the lower edge of said band.

7. The invention as defined in claim 6, further characterized by alateral extension of said stay member at the lower end of said other legdisposed in parallel contiguous relation to the lower edge of said band.

8. The invention as defined in claim 4, wherein said stay member islongitudinally resilient.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,483,272 Gluckin Sept. 27, 1949 2,644,946 Menz et al. July 14, 19532,644,947 Schwartz July 14, 1953 2,678,445 Tagliero May 18, 1954 FOREIGNPATENTS 158,489 Australia Aug. 26, 1954

